Majority of Respondents to ARMA International Survey Report Lack of Enterprise-Wide Email Archiving Capabilities; Discovery Processes are Handled Manually

LAS VEGAS (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) October 20, 2008 -- News Facts

• A new study commissioned by CA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CA) and conducted by ARMA International reveals that a large majority of Records Management professionals feel unprepared when it comes to email management (72 percent) and eDiscovery (68 percent), in relation to those records. The study also reveals a cause for their lack of preparedness: 75 percent of respondents do not have a system that manages their content—including digital and physical information and records—across the enterprise. Sixty-two percent of respondents do not have an email archiving system.

The results of this survey solidify ARMA's stance that there is an ongoing need to educate organizations about the importance of records management, discovery and retention

Companies are realizing that greater visibility into their information has become a business imperative, which is best supported by retention management best practices that span the entire enterprise

Companies that take a proactive approach to the management and control of their information will see a reduction in litigation exposure and an improvement in response times to information requests. The results of this survey point out that while we may have turned the corner, we still have a long way to go in order to be truly in control of our information assets.

These findings prove that despite the fact that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) were updated in 2007, organizations are still struggling to gain control of their information

In order to take a defensible stance in today's litigious and regulated environment, strategies for enterprise level information governance must be considered.

Additional Survey Highlights

• Most organizations report having retention policies for all content formats, with more than half (66 percent) of companies using the same retention policy for both physical and electronic documents. However, consistency in the application and enforcement of these policies is still lacking. Only one-third (38 percent) of respondents reported that they manage these records according to their retention schedule; less than half (41 percent) manage their email according to their retention policy; and only 20 percent of companies manage their electronic documents according to the schedule.
• The survey takers considered the following systems important, and as requiring the need for solid retention management and control of information within their organizations (listed in order of importance):

• Additionally, most survey respondents consider their companies’ risk levels to be moderate and believe they will spend about the same on Discovery/ eDiscovery in the coming year.

Methodology

• The ARMA International Survey was sent to ARMA International’s total membership base by ARMA International on behalf of CA, Inc. from September 5 to 22, 2008 among 1,062 individuals—an 11 percent response rate from ARMA International members. The majority of responders describe their job function in Records Management (75 percent) while legal/compliance made up 4 percent of responders and IT 2 percent, matching those who describing their job as a Corporate Executive. Responders not identifying with the survey pre-defined job functions (17 percent), reported their position in records, legal, and archiving most predominantly.
• CA, Inc. was not identified as the sponsor of this research during the survey.

Supporting Quotes

• “The results of this survey solidify ARMA’s stance that there is an ongoing need to educate organizations about the importance of records management, discovery and retention,” said Marilyn Bier, executive director, ARMA International.
• “Companies are realizing that greater visibility into their information has become a business imperative, which is best supported by retention management best practices that span the entire enterprise,” said Galina Datskovsky, Ph.D., CRM, senior vice president and general manager of Information Governance at CA. “Companies that take a proactive approach to the management and control of their information will see a reduction in litigation exposure and an improvement in response times to information requests. The results of this survey point out that while we may have turned the corner, we still have a long way to go in order to be truly in control of our information assets.”
• “These findings prove that despite the fact that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) were updated in 2007, organizations are still struggling to gain control of their information,” said Reed Irvin, vice president, product management, Information Governance at CA. “In order to take a defensible stance in today’s litigious and regulated environment, strategies for enterprise level information governance must be considered.”

Additional Resources

• Summary - ARMA International Information Management Survey
• ARMA International Press Releases
• ARMA International Standards & Best Practices
• Information Governance at CA
• White Paper: Becoming Litigation Ready Through Proactive Information Governance
• NEW - CA Information Governance Blog

About ARMA International

ARMA International (www.arma.org) is a not-for-profit professional association and the authority on managing records and information. It is known worldwide for setting standards and best practices, and for providing comprehensive education, publications, and information on the efficient maintenance, retrieval, and preservation of vital information created in public and private organizations in all sectors of the economy. Formed in 1955, ARMA International is the oldest and largest association for the records and information management profession with a current international membership of more than 11,000. It also publishes the award-winning Information Management Journal.

About CA

CA (NASDAQ: CA) is the world’s leading independent IT management software company. With CA's Enterprise IT Management (EITM) vision and expertise, organizations can more effectively govern, manage and secure IT to optimize business performance and sustain competitive advantage. For more information, visit www.ca.com.

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Trademarks

Copyright © 2008 CA. All Rights Reserved. One CA Plaza, Islandia, N.Y. 11749. All trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. CA does not provide legal advice. Neither this document nor any CA software product shall serve as a substitute for the reader’s compliance with any laws (including but not limited to any act, statue, regulation, rule, directive, standard, policy, administrative order, executive order, etc. (collectively, “Laws”)) referenced herein. The reader should consult with competent legal counsel regarding any such Laws.

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